where are you?

For its final play of the 2010-2011 theater season, the Valencia Character Company will present William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

For its final play of the 2010-2011 theater season, the Valencia Character Company will present William Shakespeare’s classic comedy, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” Showtimes are June 9-11 and June 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. and June 12 and 19 at 2 p.m.

Silly, magical, funny, romantic and mystical, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is one of the Bard’s most often produced plays. It follows the adventures of four young lovers and a group of amateur actors who are manipulated by the fairies inhabiting a moonlit forest. Valencia’s interpretation will be fairly traditional, exploring love as a sometimes-irrational facet of life that often seems beyond our control.

Ticket prices are $10 for general admission and $8 for students, seniors and Valencia staff and alumni. Tickets are free for Valencia students.

Disney Institute is bringing its renowned Disney’s Approach to People Management program to Valencia College on Thursday, May 26. Sponsored by Valencia College, the full-day event will teach area professionals how to train, develop and retain skilled employees who understand and convey the values of their business to achieve positive economic results.

“This is a rare opportunity for local business professionals to participate in a Disney Institute experience in Central Florida,” said Jeff James, vice president for Disney Institute. “It’s a day of Disney training that will offer dozens of easy-to-implement, proven ideas that can help businesses large and small thrive.”

Disney’s Approach to People Management will give participants an insider’s look at the Disney approach to selection, training, retention and communication, all of which build a strong, positive corporate culture. Participants will learn how Disney instills pride and ownership in employees and how any organization can inspire and motivate its own employees.

“In an era where everyone is competing for business and market share, a competent, motivated workforce isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity,” James said. “This program is made for organizations looking to recruit, retain and manage the best talent they can find.”

The Disney Institute learning experience is unique in the world of training. More than business theory, the program highlights proven Disney business practices that are easily adaptable to organizations in any industry. Engaging content is presented in an entertaining fashion, providing participants with tools that can literally transform their organizations.

Program registration is $399 per person. The registration fee includes continental breakfast, luncheon and workshop materials. For more information or to register, call 407-582-6688 or visit valenciacollege.edu/signatureevents.

Valencia Community College students and five Orlando organizations and took top place at American Advertising Federation’s Annual ADDY award ceremony in Miami on May 1.

A graphic design student, Jaclyn Steinberg, took top place at the American Advertising Federation’s District Addy Awards. Jaclyn’s winning entry, a 1950s-style anti-smoking campaign, goes on to compete at the national show in San Diego June 4. Our fingers are crossed that she’ll win! Another student, Brian Nutt, won a silver Addy award for a logo design.
Gold Addy winners were: Acropolis, Disney’s Yellow Shoes Creative Group, Florida Hospital, Red Rocket Studios, Universal Orlando Resort and Jaclyn Steinberg, students at Valencia Community College.

Steven Crist came to Valencia looking for a second chance at a college education.

He got it, and much more.

Crist, the college’s 2011 Distinguished Graduate, has been selected to receive the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship for up to $30,000 a year for three years.

The highly competitive scholarship is awarded to the nation’s top community college students who have financial need. It is intended to cover a significant share of educational expenses for the final two to three years necessary to achieve a bachelor’s degree – including tuition, living expenses, books and required fees.

Crist is one of 60 scholars selected this year to receive the award, out of a pool of hundreds of applicants from 17 different states.

Another Valencia graduate, Mikhail Elliott, who is studying economics at the University of Tampa, won the award last year.

Crist delivered the commencement address at Valencia’s graduation on May 7, where he received his Associate in Arts degree. He is still weighing his options about where to transfer. He plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and after that, law school. He wants to help the disadvantaged.

Those who know the 27-year-old Midwest native marvel at his energy, organizational skills and goal-setting prowess.

He will readily tell you he was not always in such control of his life.

Ten years ago, Crist was in high school in Ohio and feeling aimless. On his 18th birthday, he dropped out and began a nearly year-long journey of self-discovery that included stints of homelessness.

Seeing no future on the path he was on, Crist gathered up his courage, earned a GED and enrolled at Ohio State University. It turned out to be a rocky transition. He didn’t do as well as he had hoped and was again confronted with the question of what to do next.

One day, he spotted a recruitment flyer on campus. It was from Disney, which was looking for interns. Crist leapt at the opportunity and was invited to come down to Orlando.

As Crist puts it, this was a chance to hit the reset button on his life.

Over the next few years, Crist parlayed his internship into a full-time job. He worked as a concierge at exclusive attractions and later rose in the ranks in guest relations, attending to the needs of visiting VIPs.

Crist says exposure to the Disney culture was life-changing. He found a new self-confidence and learned about the importance of goal-setting.

When Crist decided it was time to go back to school, Disney was supportive. Crist chose Valencia based on its reputation for smaller class sizes and personalized attention.

He thrived.

Crist was steered toward honors-level classes by advisers who knew he wanted to pursue a career in law. He won leadership positions in some high-profile student organizations and maintained a 4.0 GPA while working in a job that demanded as many as 30 hours a week.

Mixed in with that were countless hours of informally advising other students on how to navigate the college and succeed in their studies.

Soon after arriving at Valencia, Crist told his advisers that he wanted to make a difference at the college that had nurtured and encouraged him and taught him the importance of giving back.

How does he think he did?

“I did well in the areas where I could get involved,” Crist said. “The key was becoming invested in Valencia, getting involved. I wanted to leave Valencia a better place for those who come after me.”

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private foundation dedicated to helping young people of exceptional promise reach their full potential through education. The Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship is the largest private scholarship for two-year and community college transfer students in the country.

Years of hard work came to a close on Saturday for the graduating class of 2011.

With 1,050 students and thousands of guests in attendance, it was the largest commencement ceremony ever in Valencia’s 44-year history.

The event was also historical for another reason: this year’s commencement marked the final one for Valencia “Community” College; come July, the college will change its name to Valencia College.

“This is bittersweet for us,” said Valencia President Sanford Shugart.

Packed into the Silver Spurs Arena, the graduates listened to commendations from the chair of Valencia’s District Board of Trustees, Raymer Maguire III, and from representatives of the college’s leadership and alumni.

Rob Stio, an Honors graduate who plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in international affairs, received a $5,000 Hites Foundation Scholarship as well as a transfer scholarship to Rollins College Hamilton Holt School.

The prestigious Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship, which provides up to $30,000 per year, was awarded to the distinguished graduate, Steven Crist.

In his commencement address, Crist saluted the support he received from friends and from the director of the Honors program, Valerie Burks, while also challenging the institution to give students more of a voice in administrative decision-making.

“Valencia has successfully positioned itself as a viable and valuable alternative to attending a four-year college for the freshman and sophomore years,” Crist said.

“As a result, you have many bright, young minds walking your halls every day, with a wealth of knowledge, and even criticisms to contribute to your institution,” he said. He went on to encourage college leaders to “give those students a voice…even if it makes you uncomfortable.”

When at last, an hour into the ceremony, the president took the podium and said, “Will the candidates for degrees please stand?”, the students sat motionless for a moment until Shugart added, “That would be you,” eliciting laughs from the crowd.

The new college grads exited the arena to sunny skies and a Lynx bus parked nearby that had been imprinted with their names as well as the names of 7,200 others who graduated from Valencia throughout the 2010-2011 academic year.

The bus which read, “The 2011 Valencia Grads are Going Places. Congrats!”, was quickly surrounded by students and their families as they searched for and pointed out their graduate’s name and posed for photos.

Why DirectConnect at Valencia? If a student is planning to transfer to the University of Central Florida after completing an associate degree at Valencia, Direct Connect helps to ensure a smooth transition to UCF after graduation.

Benefits:

Guaranteed admission to a bachelor’s degree program at UCF.

Preferential admission to select bachelor’s degree programs at UCF.

Joint advising from UCF and Valencia help ensure a smooth transition.

UCF staff available on-site at Valencia’s West and Osceola campuses to help with advising, admissions, financial aid and academic support.

Can take your UCF courses at the main campus or on Valencia’s West or Osceola campuses.

Fans of MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” or “Dancing with the Stars” will have a chance to cheer on some non-celebrity dancers in support of nursing students at Valencia College.

Femmes de Coeur is presenting “Let Us Entertain You” on May 22 from 4-9 p.m. in The Ballroom at Church Street in downtown Orlando. Proceeds will be used for nursing scholarships for Valencia, Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Seminole State College and UCF College of Nursing.

Manny Ramos, professor of nursing, and his partner Fayvin Duffy will be competing in the Faculty Challenge against nursing faculty from the other schools. The event also includes silent and live auctions.

If you can’t attend but would still like to show your support and vote for Manny, go to www.femmesdecoeur.org and click on “Donate,” then scroll through the photos at the bottom of the page until you find Manny Ramos and click on “Donate/Vote.”